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Person or Persons Unknown.

Fraser, Anthea (author).

Biographer Rona Parish takes on a bizarre assignment when she’s approached by a young woman, Zara Crane, who asks Rona to find out who her father was. Zara’s mother was brutally murdered when Zara was a baby, but no one, including Zara’s adoptive parents, knows her father’s identity. Now Zara is expecting her own child, and curiosity about her parentage has prompted her to contact Rona. Clues are sparse after so many years, and no one seems to know anything that can help. But Rona’s interviews with those who knew Zara’s mother before she died clearly ruffle some feathers, prompting a series of threatening calls and emails. When a familiar childhood rhyme unlocks the mystery, Rona realizes she may be in mortal danger. Cleverly plotted and fluidly written, Fraser’s latest entry in this popular series starts out in a low-key, slow-paced way but quickly gathers momentum and hurtles to a startling ending. No-frills thriller fans are the audience for this solid entry from a genre veteran.  Emily Melton